My FIRST grow GO HYDRO (PICTURES)

[Knally]

is my T-5 sufficeient to flower my buds? others have told me i need a 400w HPS to flower, but i only planned on spending more money on seeds/ppm meter/ (x) amount to build a new grow box......will my T-5 not yield more than the avg common cfl setups??

Yes.
I use 2 of the New Wave 2 ft. four bulb T5's to veg and flower my girls. I have been satisfied with my yields so far. I get 2-3 ozs. dry per most strains. The buds aren't as dense as an HPS, but acceptable. Here are some of my pros and cons of a T5 compared to an HPS in general excluding cost (because ultimately every grower affords what he or she wants to afford in order to be a successful grower):

Pros: Lower heat allows you to put the light very close to the plant;
Less heat means less ventilation/cooling required;
Less ventilation/cooling means more stealth opportunities;
Slim, lightweight profile takes up very little space;
Lower electric use;
Very efficient output on the HO's, 2000+ lumens per 2-ft. bulb;
Use the same light from germination through harvest

Cons: Plants may take longer to mature;
Yield less;
Buds not as dense;

Once again, it's down to each specific grower's personal situation, personal preference, grow environment, commitment to growing, resources available, and so on.

I'm satisfied with them.

Here are some pics of a Paradise Seeds feminised Dutch Dragon I grew this summer under the T5's from start to finish.

 

[TheLegend1023]

dont add nutes for the first 2 weeks man the plants are still too small to even use them.

 

[runsfromdacops]

just read the whole thread and all looks to going good for ya. let s see some updated pics

 

[motif]

well i had to leave them home alone for the holidays

ill be back to see them the 2nd, but heres what i did before i left...

-washed the whole resevoir clean and refilled distilled water higher than normal, about to the top of the first line of rocks in the net pots, close but not touching the rockwool

-addedsugar daddy and root 66 in the resevoir (i think about 10mL of both, maybe 20 mL? dont remember)

-sprayed the foliage with the root 66 (or the sugardaddy, dont remember Lol)

-misted all the hydroton rocks around the rockwool with root 66

-lights kept on 24/7

-temps ranging from 66-76 F (air)

-res temp 71F (consistent)

However just like everytime i go out of town, halfway home i realised what i forgot to do....fucking balance the pH

i dont think there is much acids in the sugardaddy or root 66 so im guessing the pH should be around 7-8 considering its distilled gallon bottles water. You think my babies will survive the 2 weeks im gone under these conditions???

 

[motif]

***UPDATE***

k two of my plants are growing and roots are showing through the bottom of the net pots. however the third is slacking..

heres the pics of them, some are showing some sort of problems (i.e. light colored yellow/green around the leaf edges, and some leaves ahave a slight browning on the tips)

i changed the resevoir water and added the vegetative formula but i dont have a way of seeling off all light for dark periods yet so im gonna keep lights on 24/7 till i can find/ construct a grow box.

heres the pics, lemme know what you think and what the causes of the discolorations are, thanks for everything guys!

oh ya also the stems are purple, is this bad? the main stocky stem is mostly green with purple striples, but the stems stemming off are pretty much all purple... thanks again!

-motif

 

[motif]

....and you guys thought they would die! muhaha

*BUMP*

should i waste money on buying a ppm meter? (this IS my first grow, ever) also i dunno what kind of design to use for a growbox with the setup i got:/

 

[TheLegend1023]

ppm meters are a must u can get them on ebay for less than 20

 

[motif]

ppm meters are a must u can get them on ebay for less than 20

Heres what i put in my reservoir for my plants first time entering vegetative stage (lights still 24/7 till i find a box to seal light for dark periods)

B.C. Boost - 6 tsp (30 ml)
B.C Grow - 3 tsp (15ml)
Thrive Alive B-1 Red - 1 tsp (5 ml)
MagiCal - 1 tsp (5 ml)
SugarDaddy - 4 tsp (20 ml)

....all in two gallons of purified water.

pH = 6.08
ppm = 1100
EC = 2.0 ms/s

can i increase any of my ingredients for bigger better buds? and what do you guys think so far?

Pics 1 & 2 front two plants' roots
Pic 3 = water level (about an inch below the net pots, maybe more im gonna give it a lil more juice)

 

[motif]

**BUMP** feedback would be nice!

p.s. im building my growbox as we speak, ill upload pictures when im finished setting it all up

 

[motif]

guess nobodys following up on this..

 

[HydroBandits]

have toy finished your box?

and are your plants clones?

 

[motif]

im making a big black blanket outta trash bags over the box, still need to buy like 2 more fans but NOBODY sells fans this time of season grr.. then i believe the box will be complete, pics coming soon...

 

[motif]

No they arent clones, germed these guys from seed. Heres a whole shitload of pics, (sorry for the delay, tech. difficulties)....

pH = about 6.0
air temp = 27 degrees Celcius
water temp = 23 degrees Celcius
humidity = 30%

these plants started in the rockwool around the first of december, and i had to leave them unattended for 2 weeks (im lucky they survived) so i know im a lil behind and they should prolly be bigger, but at least i was able to save them!

check em out, lemme know what could be adjusted.

p.s.
i added eight 26watt 6500k CFL's, tips much appreciated, this IS my first grow

 

[motif]

No they arent clones, germed these guys from seed. Heres a whole shitload of pics, (sorry for the delay, tech. difficulties)....

pH = about 6.0
air temp = 27 degrees Celcius
water temp = 23 degrees Celcius
humidity = 30%

these plants started in the rockwool around the first of december, and i had to leave them unattended for 2 weeks (im lucky they survived) so i know im a lil behind and they should prolly be bigger, but at least i was able to save them!

check em out, lemme know what could be adjusted.

p.s.
i added eight 26watt 6500k CFL's, tips much appreciated, this IS my first grow

......more pictures

 

[motif]

im having major heat issues with my reservoir water, it keeps climbing up to like 78 degrees, i prefer it to be around 68.. what should it be??

 

[motif]

im having major heat issues with my reservoir water, it keeps climbing up to like 78 degrees, i prefer it to be around 68.. what should it be??

more pics...

 

[motif]

the leaves are kinda droopy, would this be because of the excessive heat problems??

 

[HydroBandits]

the leaves are kinda droopy, would this be because of the excessive heat problems??

hmmm id say heat is plausible or over nute. the more recent pics look healthy i wouldn't be trippin.

 

[motif]

k i repositioned the fan to blow directly out the exhaust hole at the top left back corner, i still need to purchase a small oscillating fan to put down by the plants tho

temps are now:

air - 78-82 F
water - 22-24 C

,,,lowered the lights to about an inch away

the small sprout seems to have nute block or something becuz i havnt seen much development on it for the past 5 days, however it def looks healthier than it did 5 days ago, but no new leaf growth ???

 

[chucktownskunk]

over nute is what i am thinking